KNIRPS®

Knirps®

ABOUT KNIRPS®

A war injury made it difficult for Hans Haupt to carry both a walking stick and an umbrella, so he set about creating a solution. The result? The first umbrella with a telescopic frame.

It fit neatly in his pocket, and was always available when it rained! Being so small, it was natural that he referred to it as his tiny 'tot' - a young child - and that is where the brand name Knirps comes from, as ‘knirps’ means ‘tot’ in German. In 1928, a company called Bremshey & Co could see the potential for such a product and helped produce the first varieties of this innovative pocket umbrella. It was the beginning of a new era, and many different sizes, shapes and colors were developed.

New and innovative materials were used, and daring constructions were created with many of them setting the standard for how umbrellas should be, like the first automatic version in 1965, and the new Knirps XI in 2004, the smallest Knirps of all time.

KNIRPS - THE TRUE UMBRELLA EXPERT

Knirps International was established as a separate business in 1982 and in 2003 Knirps Licence Corporation GmbH & Co KG, now better known as KLC.

Knirps has plans to go global and establish the brand in a league of its own. As of now, there is renewed focus on a more fashion-oriented approach while still staying true to our German engineering and quality heritage. Knirps, as a company and as a brand, is truly original and quite unique.Umbrellas and rain protection are our passion. And while we live, breath and sleep umbrellas, and believe our know how is beyond compare, we're not resting on our laurels. We want to stay the best.